Hi
My father in law has cancer in his liver after having cancer in his bowel 12 years ago. He got over that but this cancer in the liver appears to be secondary and match the cells of his previous cancer :( cut long story short they have given him 18months, he has just started chemo but they have said they don't think the chemo will prolong his life by much if it does help. My husband lost his best friend to cancer a year just gone on July 15th, his friend was 41 :( and now his dad has had this diagnosis. My husband is the type to bottle things up and try and block what's happening out but this means he is very distant and I am finding it hard to know what to do to support him. And then there is the telling the kids (they are 9 and 6) What do you say and when do we say things? It's so dad. Thanks in advance
Hi Cookie1
Welcome to our community, I hope you find it helpful as I have.
My experience with cancer is with my wife and she had been incurable from diagnosis, for her chemotherapy has managed to render her cancer stable and we have now been living with cancer for over 10 years.
We do have a couple of guides on here that might be useful, the first your feelings when someone has cancer may be useful to you. I know I had to work out how I felt before I was in a great state to help anyone else and I would encourage you to post on here, ring the helpline or whatever you find helps you - as we sometimes say we need to fit our own oxygen mask first. The second is talking to children and teenagers, they are bound to notice something is up and can imagine things much worse that reality so it can be really helpful to talk. I found the book "The Secret C - straight talking about cancer" quite useful too.
The last and most important point I had to learn - remember to look after yourself - it can be both exhausting and rewarding.
<<hugs>>
Steve
